Tag Archives | peso devaluation

Sorry for the delay in posting, but we’ve been travelling a lot recently. We’ll be trying to get back to some more regular postings soon! For now, here’s some news…

Tourism Declines Again In November [The Argentine Post] The Argentine Post is reporting that the number of people visiting Argentina declined for the second consecutive month in November, falling 8% to 188,705 people from a year earlier. The decline comes after a 6% drop the previous month and seems to be yet another indication that Argentina will find it hard to escape negative fallout from the global economic meltdown this year.

How Palermo’s Streets Got Their Names [Trendy Palermo Viejo] An interesting article about how the streets of the Palermo neighborhoods in Buenos Aires got their names – names of countries, legislators and scientists.

Argentine Inflation at 7.2% for 2008 – Yeah, Right [D for Disorientation] The official governemtn numbers put inflation in Argentina at a low 7.2% for 2008, the smallest rate in 4 years. However, independent sources put it at about three times higher than that.

Buenos Aires Playa [BA Travel Guide] Stuck in Buenos Aires for the hot summer? Head to the beach in the city. From January 16 to February 28, 2009, the Buenos Aires city government presents “Buenos Aires Playa” (Buenos Aires Beach), an oasis for those residents and visitors who have to spend the summer in the city. The two man-made “beaches” feature sand, beach chairs, sun shades, water fountains, food, activities and more.

Fires Burn Over 1,200 Acres In Argentina [LAHT] A state of emergency has been declared in Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego province, where more than 500 hectares (1,234 acres) of forest have been scorched by several fires, forcing the evacuation of dozens of people, officials said Sunday.

Argentine automakers to sell at cost, protect jobs [Reuters] Argentine automakers will sell basic models at cost through state-subsidized loans in a plan to protect jobs in Latin America’s third-biggest economy from the global economic slowdown. Local plants of Renault SA, General Motors, Peugeot, Ford Motor Co. and other automakers will participate in the government’s plan to protect 150,000 auto industry jobs and to keep production from falling steeply next year. Now this is an interesting idea!

Madge blows $1 million in hotel bill [The Times of India] Madonna reportedly shelled out a million dollars on the Four Seasons hotel in Buenos Aires after she and her crew checked out from its posh premises. The megastar blew an alleged 9,000 dollars per night to stay at the hotel’s private mansion while her 200 backing dancers, singers, make-up artists, choreographers, managers and security checked into another 110 rooms – costing at least 600 dollars each. Now, I know where at least part of my ticket money went!

Argentina Gun Swap Wildly Successful [IPS] As a disarmament campaign launched 17 months ago in Argentina nears its end, the government and civil society groups involved in the initiative announced that it has far exceeded even the most optimistic projections, despite the lack of publicity. The Interior Ministry reported that the programme, in which people voluntarily swap their firearms for cash, has so far collected over 102,000 guns and 721,000 munitions, all of which were destroyed.

Why Have So Many Restaurants Closed in Buenos Aires? (english version) [La Nacion] An interesting read, about the closure and pending closures of almost 300 restaurants in Buenos Aires due to the economic crisis. Many of these restaurants had relied on the tourist market and thus increased prices so significantly that they lost the locals. It will be intersting to see if the new visa tax that goes into effect on January 1 will cause a further decline in tourism and what the fallout will be.